Chippewas drop seventh straight with loss to Miami (Ohio)
Central Michigan's road woes continue.
After scoring 10 of the games' first 11 points, the Chippewas (13-15, 6-9) quickly watched their lead evaporate at the hands of a furious Miami (Ohio) (11-17, 4-11) charge. The RedHawks took a 10-point lead into the locker room and eventually pulled even farther away from the Chippewas, handing them a 76-57 loss Thursday in Millett Hall in Oxford, Ohio.
The loss is Central Michigan's seventh in a row overall and fourth straight on the road. The Chippewas claimed their last road win on Feb. 1 at Western Michigan and are now just 2-11 on the season away from McGuirk Arena.
With the loss, the Chippewas become increasingly in danger of losing home-court advantage for the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament, which starts on March 9. Currently, the Chippewas sit in a 3-way tie for seventh place with Toledo and Ohio. Against those two teams, the Chippewas are a combined 1-2.
Thursday night's game, a makeup contest that was rescheduled following concerns regarding the coronavirus back on Jan. 28, started in promising fashion for the Chippewas.
Senior forward David DiLeo scored eight of his team's first 10, leading the squad to a 10-1 lead. However, the RedHawks rallied back and took their first lead on a triple from Isaiah Coleman-Lands, capping off a 18-7 run.
The Chippewas stayed close and tied the game on a 3-point play from senior forward Rob Montgomery, however a 3-pointer on the next possession from Milos Jovic gave the RedHawks the lead once again, 26-23.
The RedHawks never trailed again.
Jovic's triple started a 13-0 run for Miami, which closed the half up 39-27. The Chippewas would get a pair of buckets from senior guard Kevin McKay to draw within single digits. However Jovic and Coleman-Lands hit triples to stop the rally. With three minutes remaining, the RedHawks had stretched their lead to 20 and the game was out of reach for Central Michigan.
Nike Sibande scored a game-high 17 points for the RedHawks and grabbed nine rebounds. Jovic scored 15 and Coleman-Lands added 13 points in 35 minutes off the bench. The Chippewas were led by Montgomery, who led the team with both 11 points and seven boards. DiLeo added 10 in the scoring column.
Up next, the Chippewas travel to Eastern Michigan at noon Saturday in the EMU Convocation Center.
In the previous meeting, the Eagles escaped McGuirk Arena with a 73-70 win on Feb. 11. The Eagles are 15-13 overall and 5-10 in MAC play.
